Why Is Everyone So Obsessed With Mushrooms Right Now?

It used to be that the only time I really saw mushrooms was when a few white button mushrooms appeared on a garden salad or atop my cheese pizza. Now, shrooms are popping up everywhere from our plates to our coffee cups, with everyone from sustainability experts to wellness gurus hyping up the powerful properties contained within the mushroom kingdom.

Mushrooms are often considered a vegetable, but the truth is that they are actually considered a fungus. (Yep, you read that right.) But don't put shrooms in the same camp as mold and write them off as unsanitary—the truth is, the DNA of mushrooms has actually been found to have more in common with animals that plants. Intrigued yet? Mushrooms are truly magical (and not just in the trippy way, although we will get to that).

Keep reading to learn how mushrooms have the potential to heal our health, our planet, and our minds.